Five Guns and Shooting Online staff members were enlisted for this comparison article. They are Owner and Managing Editor Chuck Hawks, Gunsmithing Editor Rocky Hays, Chief Executive Technical Advisor
Jim Fleck, Technical Assistant Bob Fleck and Technology Services representative Dave Cole. All except Dave are experienced rifle shooters and have participated in a great many rifle reviews. Dave is our Guns and Shooting Online computer security person and most of his experience, although he has been shooting for a long time, has been with handguns.

Probably the best known and most recognizable civilian
"black rifle" in North America today is the AR-15. The AR-15 is the
civilian, semi-automatic version of the U.S. military's select-fire M16 and M4
assault rifles. All three are based on the same basic AR action and shoot the
.223 Remington (5.56mm NATO) varmint cartridge. (I guess terrorists could be
classified as "varmints.") As has been true of all previous U.S.
service rifles, the AR-15 has become very popular with American civilian
shooters and an entire cottage industry has grown up supplying parts and
complete rifles.

However, the AR-15 is not the only military style rifle
popular in North America. Among the AR-15's major competitors in the civilian
autoloading carbine market is the Ruger Mini-14. The Mini-14 is styled after
and operates similarly to the U.S. M14 service rifle, the very rifle the M16
replaced as standard U.S. Army issue. As its name indicates, the Mini-14 is a
scaled down rifle, also designed around the .223 Remington cartridge. The
Mini-14 is about the size of the WW II vintage M1 Carbine. This article will
compare these two, very popular, civilian black carbines, both with
(approximately) 16" barrels. These civilian Mini-14 and AR-15 carbines
with ~16" barrels (the legal minimum) are popular, because the
ultra-short little carbines are relatively handy.

Unfortunately, there is a steep price to pay in ballistic performance
when a high intensity cartridge like the .223 is fired from a short barrel. The
.223 Remington (5.56mm NATO) cartridge, which has been covered in detail on the
Rifle Cartridges page, derives its excellent performance as a long range
varmint and small predator cartridge from its high velocity, which is dependent
on a full length 24" barrel. Sacrificing the very quality that makes the
.223 cartridge good, its high velocity and consequent flat trajectory, for a
short barrel is foolish. According to Winchester figures, a 60-62 grain spitzer
bullet fired from a .223 with a 24" barrel has a MV of 3100 fps. From a
16" barrel the velocity falls to only 2750 fps. The 200 yard energy drops
from 825 ft. lbs. to 505 ft. lbs.

Chambering carbines for high velocity
cartridges makes no ballistic sense, particularly a cartridge firing a very
small diameter, lightweight bullet like the .223, which depends heavily on
velocity for its striking power. A .223 carbine with a 16" barrel is
essentially castrated. For a rifle with a carbine length barrel, it would be
much better to use a lower velocity cartridge firing a fatter, heavier bullet.
This is why the old Soviet 7.62x39mm handily outperforms the .223 in such
applications, but not at long range when fired from a 24" barrel. It is
simply a matter of choosing an appropriate cartridge for the intended
application. None of this, of course, occurs to those who have a sketchy
understanding of ballistics.

In 1959, Colt purchased the AR-15 name and manufacturing rights
from ArmaLite Corporation, where the 5.56x46mm (.223 Rem.) caliber AR-15 was
developed as a scaled-down version of Chief Engineer Eugene Stoner's AR-10, a 7.65mm
(.308 Win.) caliber rifle. Colt immediately put the AR-15 into production,
secured a contract with the government of Malaysia for military assault rifles
and aggressively pursued additional military contracts. In this they were so
successful that something like 10 million M16's have been produced by Colt and Colt
licensed arms makers around the world.

The U.S. Air Force adopted a select-fire version of the
AR-15 as their service rifle and they were followed by the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine
Corps and Coast Guard. The selective fire (semi-auto and full auto) U.S.
military model was adopted as the M16, which went into service in 1963. Subsequently,
many other nations also adopted the M-16 select fire rifle for their military
services.

The select fire (3-shot burst and semi-auto) M4 carbine, a
variation of the M16A2 with a very short 14.5" barrel, began replacing the
M16A2 (20" barrel) as the U.S. Army's primary long gun in 2010. It is
popular with the troops for urban and house to house combat.

Colt uses the AR-15 name only for semi-automatic versions of
the AR-15. Semi-automatic AR-15's use an internally different lower receiver,
bolt, bolt carrier, hammer and trigger group to prevent retro fitting M16 parts to convert a civilian AR-15 into a
true, full-auto, assault rifle. AR-15's in various configurations are used by
many police departments around the world, as well as by civilians.

The AR-15 was designed for cheap mass production for
military service, where rifles are expendable and a great many may be needed to
prosecute a war. Consequently, it uses aluminum alloy and plastic parts
wherever possible. Steel parts are used only where absolutely critical for
function or safety. In the same vein, the AR-15 was designed with a direct impingement
gas operating system, which is simpler and cheaper (but much hotter and dirtier
in operation) than conventional gas piston operating systems, such as used in
the M1 and M14 service rifles and the Mini-14 civilian carbine. The AR's direct
impingement operating system has caused reliability problems in both the
jungles of Vietnam and the sandbox of the Near East.

AR-15 is a registered Colt trademark. However, many manufacturers
produce AR-15 copies under a variety of trade names. Most shooters,
publications (including G&S Online)
and manufacturers tend to refer to all of these civilian clones as AR-15's,
regardless of Colt's trademark. The specific AR-15 chosen to participate in
this comparison is the M4 LE version (product #55AE160) from CMMG, Inc.
(www.cmmginc.com).

This autoloading carbine features a black nitride metal
finish that is applied to the barrel, front
sight base and upper. Nitriding is claimed to offer improved wear, abrasion and
corrosion resistance when compared to hard chrome lining or phosphating. The
external aluminum alloy parts are flat black anodized. The lower receiver is
RDIAS/RLL compatible.

The CMMG M4 LE's iron sights
include a folding, adjustable, Magpul MBUS rear aperture and a protected front
blade, which is a practical sighting system. As with most AR-15 type rifles,
the sight line of the iron sights is unusually high compared to other designs,
including previous U.S. military rifles and the Ruger Mini-14. (Optimally,
sights should be low and over the bore.) The front sight ramp is so tall that
it blocks the sight line of optical sights (telescopic or red dot). A spacer is
required to raise the optical sight, unless the front sight is removed.
Unfortunately, removing the front sight ramp is not as straightforward as it
seems, as it is an integral part of the rifle's gas operating system.
Consequently, we went with the spacer when we fitted a red dot optical sight to the CMMG AR-15.

The buttstock and front grip
are black plastic. The buttstock is six position adjustable for length of pull.
Sadly, there is noticeable play in every direction, which is detrimental
to accuracy. The comb height is uncomfortably
high (at least for some shooters) for use with the supplied iron sights and too
low for optimum use with optical sights, a common problem with this sort of
stock. Overall, we give this stock a "D" (poor) rating.

The out of the box trigger
pull of our CMMG AR-15 was horrible, as well as inconsistent, at between 6-7
pounds with an extreme amount of gritty take-up and over travel. The standard
trigger assembly is cheaply made and not worth fixing, so most knowledgeable
AR-15 shooters simply replace these standard trigger units with something better.

The safety is a switch
mounted on the left side of the receiver above the rifle's pistol grip. The
switch's up position is "Fire" and down is "Safe." A hinged,
spring-loaded flap keeps dirt and crud out of the right side ejection port. All
of this is standard AR-15 fare.

The standard M4 type handguard
was replaced by an aftermarket version with four Picatinny rails (top, bottom
and both sides). This allows greater flexibility for mounting accessories.

An inexpensive Millett (www.millettsights.com)
SP-2 Compact (#RD00005) red dot sight was fitted to the top Picatinny rail,
using a 1" riser to clear the tall front sight. This optical sight uses a matte
black, 30mm main tube and features click windage and elevation adjustments, a
five MOA dot and 11 intensity settings. Millett claims that these sights are
waterproof, shockproof and parallax free. Mounting rings that clamp to a
Picatinny/Weaver base come with the sight. A red dot sight is a good choice for
a home defense carbine. Our first SP-2 proved to be defective, but our local retailer
(Bi-Mart) kindly replaced it with one that works.

A Grip Pod Systems (www.grippod.com) polymer combined grip/bipod
was attached to the carbine's handguard using the lower Picatinny rail. This
vertical pistol grip extends about 5-1/2" below the rail and has two legs
that pop out to raise the rifle another 3" above a solid surface, for a
total elevation of 8-1/2" when the Grip Pod's legs are deployed to serve
as a bipod.

A SureFire (www.surefire.com) AD4493 tactical flashlight
attaches to one of the side Picatinny rails for nighttime illumination. This is
a bright, compact and high quality little LED light with a durable, anodized
aluminum body. We regard such lights as useful accessories for any home defense
carbine.

Ruger firearms (www.ruger.com) are made in the USA and well
known for both value and performance. As the name implies, the Ruger Mini-14 is
based on a scaled-down (.223 size) M14 type action. As a result, all critical
components of the barreled action are steel. Unlike AR-15's, we don't know of
any aluminum alloy parts in the Mini-14. As originally designed, Mini-14's had
hardwood stocks, but later plastic stocks were also offered, along with
stainless steel barreled actions.

The Mini-14, like all modern military rifles, is designed
for cheap and easy mass production. The stocks are black plastic or the
cheapest possible hardwood. The lines of virtually all modern military rifles
can accurately be described as "ugly." Stocks are ungainly and
handling is, at best, clumsy. Picatinny rails sprout from forearms and flash
hiders protrude from barrels, making even carbines awkward to carry when
accessorized. Being autoloaders, they throw brass all over the place, so they
are not a good choice for the reloader.

The most recent Mini-14 variation is
the Tactical, the model included in this comparison. (See the full review of
the Mini-14 Tactical on the Rifle Information - Reviews page.) It comes with a
16-1/8" barrel (17-3/4" inc. the flash hider) and an ATI
(www.atigunstocks.com) Strikeforce folding/telescoping stock. The collapsible
stock can be set for six lengths of pull and the comb is adjustable for height.
This stock incorporates no less than six detachable sling swivel studs and four
polymer Picatinny accessory rails. (A 7" rail on top and 2" rails on
both sides and the bottom of the forearm). These supplied Picatinny rails make
it easy to mount multiple accessories.

The Tactical's ATI telescoping and
folding stock has play in every direction, no matter in what position it is
locked. Play seems to be endemic to this type of stock, as our AR-15's telescoping
stock exhibited the same problem. We adjusted the comb to its highest position
and it is still too low to allow a proper cheek weld when looking through our
rail mounted red dot tactical sight. On the other hand, in its lowest position,
the comb was still too high for some staff members to comfortably use the
rifle's iron sights. The comb height probably could be adjusted to a
comfortable position for use with a conventional riflescope mounted in Ruger rings.

This folding buttstock proved to offer less flexibility
than we had hoped. Folded along the left side of the rifle, the buttstock is so
bulky that it makes holding and shooting the Mini-14 Tactical even more awkward
than with the stock unfolded. The stock's folding feature does make it a dandy
finger crusher of the unwary. Incidentally, we found adjusting the stock for a
length of pull of 13-5/8" (the fifth of the six available positions) best
fit our medium size shooters. Overall, we give this stock a "D"
(poor) rating.

The investment cast steel receiver
and machined steel barrel and bolt are the basic blocks upon which every
Mini-14 is built. The rest of the Mini-14's metal parts appear to be stamped
from sheet steel. All external metal parts wear a blued finish. The Mini-14
uses a true gas piston operated action, which eliminates the heating and
fouling problems created by the AR-15's direct gas impingement operation. It is
a clean running autoloader.

The supplied front sight is a blade
protected by wings on each side, in the style of the M1 and M14 infantry
rifles. The rear sight is a receiver mounted aperture (peep) sight. The rear
sight is user adjustable for windage and elevation. These are good iron sights.
Attachment grooves for Ruger scope rings are machined into the Mini-14's
receiver and a pair of Ruger's excellent steel rings is included with the rifle.

The Mini-14 safety is a sheet metal blade located in the front of the sheet metal trigger guard, similar in operation to the M-1 Garand safety. (The forward position is "fire," back is "safe.") The original reason for this safety location on the M1, and later the M14, is to allow the user to have his finger on the trigger and the rifle on SAFE. To fire, he need only move his trigger finger forward about a half inch inside the trigger guard to push the safety to the FIRE position, allowing him to instantly return his finger to the trigger without ever removing it from inside the trigger guard. This is a pretty good design for infantry combat conditions. Unfortunately, the Mini-14's safety blade is so thin that it is uncomfortable to use and civilian shooters are taught to keep their fingers off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot.

The Mini-14 Tactical comes with a
20 round, sheet steel magazine. (Five, 10 and 30 round magazines are also
available.) This magazine has sharp corners on its feed lips, so care should be
taken when loading cartridges. The supplied 20 round magazine protrudes so far
from the bottom of the carbine that it impedes a normal grip on the forend when
shooting from the offhand position. As you know, the shooter's strong hand
should be on the pistol grip and the support hand should be cradling the
rifle's forearm from below with the arm directly beneath the rifle. This is
impossible with a 20 round magazine in place. The support arm is forced to the
side, because the magazine is in the way. This degrades steadiness when
shooting from unsupported positions. We would like to see Ruger ship these
rifles with two magazines, one each for 10 rounds and 30 rounds. The 10 round
magazine should be short enough to allow a normal offhand hold.

There is slight, but perceptible, flex in the 7" top Picatinny rail and the upper hand guard to which it is mounted,
which means there is flex in any sighting system (such as a red dot optical
sight) so mounted. Both the rail and hand guard are injection molded polymer. Mounting a low
power, conventional riflescope in the supplied Ruger mounting rings that clamp
solidly to the receiver would result in a more rigid and accurate, if less
versatile, sighting system.

The stock trigger pull measured a
very heavy 6.5 pounds, out of the box. There was also a long, gritty take-up
and noticeable over travel. Fortunately, Mini-14 triggers can be improved with
a little home gunsmithing, which became the first item on our "to do" list.

Guns and Shooting Online
Gunsmithing Editor Rocky Hays did some trigger work on our Mini-14. Polishing
the hammer, sear and trigger engagement notches and surfaces (the stock parts
are pretty crude) reduced the Tactical's trigger pull to 2-5/8 pounds. There is
still a rough, military style take-up, but once you get to the final pull, the
release is crisp.

We fitted a Redfield
(www.redfield.com) CounterStrike combined dot type optical and laser sight to
the Tactical's top Picatinny rail. (There is a full review of this sight on the
Scopes and Sport Optics - Reviews page.) Some sort of optical sight is
advisable on this carbine, as the ATI folding stock makes it difficult to use
the supplied iron sights. Despite the slight flex in the rifle's handguard and top
rail, we found the Redfield CounterStrike sufficiently accurate for most applications and
it is excellent in dim light or at night.

Redfield describes the
CounterStrike thusly: "Our new CounterStrike™ puts every advantage in your
favor, combining a powerful, visible, red laser and an illuminated, 4-MOA
green/red dot scope in one versatile sighting system." The CounterStrike
comes with an integral Picatinny/Weaver mount. A red or green dot aiming point
is selected by means of the aft (round) push button on the unit's left side
control panel, which also serves as the on/off switch for the red dot sight.
(Press to turn on, press again to change color, press and hold for two seconds
to turn off.) The intensity of the dot can be increased or decreased for
comfortable sighting in any lighting condition. The unit will automatically
turn itself off after two hours. The projected laser sight, located directly
below the optical sight's tube, is turned on and off by the front (square) push
button on the unit's control panel. It is excellent for snap shooting indoors,
or outside in dim light or at night, but is not bright enough to be visible at
normal rifle ranges in bright sunlight. Both the optical aiming dot and
projected laser are user adjustable for windage and elevation. We consider the
Redfield CounterStrike an excellent sighting system for a home defense rifle.

We attached a black, 9" Caldwell
(www.battenfeldtechnologies.com/caldwell) XLA Pivot Bipod #571429 to the sling
swivel stud in the center of the bottom Picatinny rail. The legs extend from
9" to a maximum of 13" in steps. Caldwell Pivot bipods allow the
shooter to tilt the rifle on the bipod for use on uneven ground. (This bipod is
reviewed on the Rifle Information page.) It performs well.

An NcStar (www.ncstar.com) 35 lumen
LED flashlight was clamped to the left side Picatinny rail. This little gem is
only 3.25" long and less than an inch in diameter. It has an anodized
aluminum body with an easily operated push button on/off switch at the back of
its tailpiece. Power is supplied by a single CR123 battery. A Weaver/Picatinny
mount is included with the light. There is a review of this NcStar tactical
light on the Outdoor Accessories page.

As usual, we did our test shooting
at the Izaak Walton outdoor range south of Eugene, Oregon. This facility has
covered shooting benches and 50 yard target frames convenient for testing
rifles with iron sights or optical sights without magnification. (Multiply 50
yard group sizes by two to get equivalent 100 yard group sizes.) Dave Cole, Bob
Fleck and Jim Fleck did the shooting for record. The weather was typical of June in Western
Oregon, with partly cloudy skies and a temperature of 61-degrees F. The light five MPH breeze was not a factor at 50 yards.

Due to the Obama post reelection gun and ammo ban effort, we had
available only one .223 factory load for testing. This was Hornady Varmint Express with a
55 grain V-MAX bullet at a MV of 3240 fps (measured in a 24" test barrel).
The expected muzzle velocity from the short 16" barrels of our carbines is
approximately 2800 fps. The Hornady Varmint Express is an extremely accurate
.223 load that we also use in our best varmint rifles.

We fired five shot groups at sighting-in type targets for record. We did our shooting from a sturdy bench rest using the bipods installed
on the test rifles for support.

This time out, Bob shot the smallest group. Our combined average group size for both carbines at 50 yards was
1.8", which would translate to 3.6" at 100 yards.

In its stand alone review, the Mini-14 achieved an average 50 yard group size of 1.66" with the same ammunition at the same rifle range. The average group size from both range sessions with the Mini-14 would be 1.75". We'd say there was nothing to choose in accuracy between our AR-15 and Mini-14 test rifles. Actually, both performed better than expected.

Comments

After spending time with and
shooting both the AR-15 M4 LE and the Mini-14 Tactical, we were able to draw
some conclusions about these tactical carbines. Here is a synopsis of our opinions
and comments.

Accuracy

The accuracy of both carbines was judged good for home defense, or potting cottontail rabbits,
coyotes and javelina at moderate range. They are chambered for an inherently
accurate varmint cartridge, but admittedly, neither carbine can match the
accuracy potential of a bolt action .223 hunting rifle. Give both carbines a "C" (average) for accuracy.

Reliability

Our sample carbines functioned correctly throughout our test shooting. There were no malfunctions of any kind; you can't ask for more than that.

In the long run, any autoloader requires more preventive maintenance and is potentially less reliable than a
decent lever, bolt or pump action rifle. Give the AR-15 a "C" (average) for
reliability. The Mini-14's conventional gas piston operated action should require less
maintenance to keep it running reliably over time than the AR-15's direct impingement gas
operating system, so the Mini-14 deserves a slightly higher "C+" (above average) reliability rating.

Sights

Both carbines come with decent
aperture type iron sights that, due to the design of their stocks, are
difficult to use. The Millett red dot sight we used on the AR-15 can potentially sit lower on
a Picatinny rail than the Redfield combination red dot and laser sight we used
on the Mini-14, because the Redfield's projection laser is mounted beneath its
red dot's tube, raising the red dot's sight line about ¾". This extra
sight height made a proper cheek weld on the Tactical's stock impossible, even
with its adjustable comb raised all the way. On the other hand, the Redfield's
optics are clearly superior to the Millet SP2 and provide a clearer and wider
field of view. The Redfield's aiming dot is also smaller, allowing a more precise aim.

For use at night or indoors, the Redfield's built in laser could be a big advantage for fast target acquisition from unsupported (hand held) positions, but our outdoor range time in bright daylight made this a moot point. If we had taken advantage of the Mini-14's very solid and secure integral scope mounting system and the supplied Ruger scope mounting rings to fit a conventional rifle scope, its daylight sighting score would be raised to at least a "B" (good) and possibly an "A" (excellent). A telescopic sight in the 2.5x range would almost certainly have allowed the Mini-14 to shoot tighter groups from the bench rest. However, a conventional scope would severely compromise its night fighting capability.

As reviewed, using only their red dot sights, both carbines earned a "C" (average) for sighting efficiency.

Operation

The Mini-14 magazine is inserted into the well at an angle so that it first catches at the front; then it is rocked back and up to lock in place.
Rocky and Chuck are sufficiently familiar with Mini-14's to not have a problem with this, but it caused problems for the rest of us. The AR-15's magazine
goes in straight and was judged easier to insert.

The safety levers operate differently, but both worked satisfactorily, if not conveniently. In
the case of the AR-15, the left side safety switch operates backward from the norm (up to fire
on the AR-15, instead of down to fire). We judged the AR-15 safety slower to operate than the Mini-14's trigger guard safety and it requires more hand movement.

As previously mentioned, the Mini-14's trigger guard safety is stamped from thin sheet metal and this makes it less comfortable to operate than the original M1 safety from which it is derived.
A World War II or Korean War veteran would be acquainted with the operation of this type of safety (shove the blade forward to fire), but most shooters today are not. Jim, for
example, didn't remember where the Mini-14's safety was located and never used it during our range session.

Manually cycling the bolt to load the chamber from a freshly inserted magazine is a single step (pull back and release) operation
with the Mini-14, which has a typical semi-auto bolt handle. It was simpler to do, at least for those not already acclimated to
the AR-15's "two fingers from behind the receiver" racking operation.

The AR-15 uses a large push button that angles out and rearward from the aft right side of the receiver to ensure that the bolt is fully closed after loading. This means that a second manual action is required to securely close the AR-15's bolt before shooting. At least you only need to do it once per magazine load.

Among our staff, Dave and Rocky preferred operating the AR-15 action, while Chuck preferred the Mini-14 Tactical. Jim and Bob thought they were about equal.

Ergonomics and handling

After handling and shooting both rifles, Dave found the ergonomics of the Mini-14 Tactical satisfactory, but
liked the AR-15 M4 LE better. He got a better cheek weld on the AR-15 stock's comb and also liked the aftermarket front grip handle
(which he installed). Jim and Chuck, on the other hand, disliked the AR's vertical front grip.

The AR (with accessories) balanced well to the rear, over its pistol grip,
and Dave felt he could shoot it effectively using just his strong hand in a
short range emergency. The Mini-14 Tactical (with accessories) balances at the
front of the receiver, like a conventional rifle, achieving a between the hands
balance for normal two handed shooting. Even with its buttstock folded, it would be nearly impossible to shoot the Mini-14 Tactical effectively with one hand.

The telescoping buttstocks supplied with these carbines drew a lot of criticism. A standard Mini-14 Ranch Rifle that we had along
for comparison, which uses the same basic barreled action as the Tactical, but in a conventional stock, is clearly a better handling rifle. The Ranch rifle's stock is
faster to the shoulder and quicker to acquire a sight picture. It also carries
more comfortably slung over either shoulder. Except for the minor advantage
that you can collapse them part way for storage, most of us could find no
practical benefits to the AR-15's and Mini-14's telescoping stocks. (The
Tactical stock's folding feature allows further shortening for storage, but is
worthless for shooting.) Due to the play in both folding stocks, accurate
shooting is compromised.

A telescoping stock may be advantageous for an army rifle, to conserve space if you must ship hundreds or thousands of rifles to
a combat zone, especially by air. However, for a civilian shooter with a single
rifle, it is better to have a fixed stock with a comfortable length of pull
that will not be inadvertently altered or hurriedly set incorrectly in an emergency.

The Picatinny rails on all surfaces of the forearms limits the available gripping surface, restricts hand placement and impedes handling. Bob and Chuck found this particularly annoying.

The long magazines protruding from the bottom of these rifles interferes with the natural and proper position of the shooter's lead arm. The AR's standard 30 rounder is an even worst offender in this regard than the Mini-14's supplied 20 round mag. Chuck and Jim found this especially irritating.

Everyone except Dave found the ergonomics, fit and handling of both carbines clearly inferior to rifles with more conventionally
designed stocks. After adding typical accessories, they are also much too heavy (over 10 pounds!) for their caliber and barrel length. (If you want a good handling carbine, try a Marlin or
Winchester lever action and you'll see what we mean.)

These two carbines combine the worst ergonomics most of us have encountered in a very long time and there is play (movement) in the stocks, where there shouldn't be any. As to which carbine's ergonomics and handling are better, our majority opinion (Dave would disagree) is that they are both near the bottom of the barrel. We'd give these carbines a D (poor) in ergonomics and handling.

Aesthetics

Dave, alone of our shooters, found
these black carbines attractive. Dave likes this style of carbine, while
everyone else does not. He thought they looked cool, especially the
AR-15. He pointed out that the AR-15 and AK-47 look like military rifles should to
young shooters. (World War II and Korean War era vets would probably say the
same thing about the Mini-14.)

Chuck, Rocky, Jim and Bob found the lines,
finish and overall aesthetics of both carbines singularly unattractive. (Jim
likened them to dog poop.) The majority would give both of them an F
(failure/unacceptable) for appearance, with Dave being the single dissenting vote.

Conclusion

We see these civilian carbines as most useful for urban or suburban home defense. Depending on the situation, they may or may not the best choice for such use, but their design is such that they are worse for other roles, so home defense becomes their primary purpose by default.

These tactical carbines are chambered for an excellent varmint cartridge, but they are not varmint rifles. In stopping power, at least with FMJ (ball) ammo, the 5.56mm NATO is near the bottom of the rifle cartridge
barrel, as has been amply demonstrated in both Vietnam and the Middle East. However, with expanding bullets and used for civilian home defense against unarmored perps, the .223 has proven an effective man stopper.

Keep in mind that an ordinary Marlin or Winchester lever action .30-30 carbine handles better and hits much harder at all ranges. If the need is to protect your country home, farm or ranch from an aggressive man or beast, a .30-30 carbine would be a much better choice. So would a Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle in 6.8mm SPC caliber.

The primary strengths of these .223 tactical carbines are their large cartridge capacity, low recoil and fast follow-up shots. Unfortunately, as all experienced shooters know, you cannot miss fast enough to win any sort of contest, including a gunfight. One accurate shot from an enemy with a .308 or .30-30 carbine will make the little .223 carbines' big magazine capacity and rapid fire capability a dead issue. (Sorry about the pun.) However, for short and medium range encounters in an urban home defense scenario, especially against multiple hostiles, these fast firing carbines should be quite effective.

A 12 gauge shotgun (riot gun) is the traditional choice for urban home defense and certainly hits harder at close range with either buckshot or slugs, but these .223 carbines kick a lot less and are less deafening and intimidating to the user. They also allow faster follow-up shots. That said, Chuck, Rocky and Jim are sticking with their 12 gauge riot guns as their preferred long gun for short range home defense. Among our staff, only Dave considers his AR-15 carbine his primary home defense long gun.

The Ruger Mini-14 Tactical and CMMG AR15 M4 LE can accommodate
a bipod, optical sight and flashlight. Our comparison carbines were so equipped. Of
course, any conventional rifle with a detachable sling swivel stud on its forend can accept a bipod and
provision for scope mounting is virtually universal on all modern rifles and many riot guns. Tactical flashlights, lasers, etc. can be clamped to the barrel or magazine tube
of conventional rifles and shotguns. You don't need Picatinny rails on every forearm surface for these accessories.

Keep in mind that we are civilian
shooters, not the Army Ordinance department. The need for suppressive fire from
massed automatic weapons or for hundreds of troops to envelop or defend a
prepared position is beyond our purview. Likewise, the necessity for helicopter
re-supply of thousands of rounds of ammunition to sustain a fire fight is not a
consideration for civilians. Those are the types of requirements for which
modern military assault rifles, such as the M16, M4 and AR-74, were
developed. However, these requirements are not applicable to civilian self
defense situations and, in any case, cannot be fulfilled by semi-automatic carbines
that look like military assault rifles, but really aren't.

Why the popularity of weapons designed to narrow and specific military requirements? We are more puzzled by that
question now, after comparing these two semi-automatic carbines
and discovering their flaws, than we were before we started. Their forte'
seems to be intimidating ignorant folks who are unfamiliar with
firearms, which includes the majority of American politicians. In hot rod terms, these tactical black carbines seem
designed more for "show," than for "go."

In conclusion, these carbines are rather specialized firearms, primarily useful for urban home defense. They are expensive, heavy (after being accessorized), ugly, with flawed ergonomics and handling. If you are serious about defending your home and family, there are probably better choices.

The Winner?

Both carbines scored similarly and we found little to choose between them. Overall, Dave preferred the AR-15 M4 LE. Rocky was surprised that both carbines shot as accurately as they did. He thought the AR-15 was simpler to operate, but that the Mini-14 would be more durable and reliable in the long run, due to its all steel barreled action and gas piston operation. Chuck basically concurred with Rocky in this assessment. He picked the Mini-14 Tactical overall, mostly because its cleaner operating action requires less maintenance. Bob also picked the Mini-14, as he thought it fit him better. Jim thought these tactical carbines pointless and found little to like about either.

Note: There is a full review of the Ruger Mini-14 Tactical on the Product Reviews page.